When you have had as prolific a career as Spike Lee, there are some films that tend to get lost in the shuffle of time, perhaps not fading into obscurity, but at the very least not being as well-known as some others. This is certainly the case for Girl 6, which occurred during Lee’s most productive decade, where he was constantly working, churning out many films (sometimes releasing more than one film a year). The story of the eponymous “Girl 6”, a young woman trying and failing to make an honest living, who decides to surrender to her last resort in the form of becoming a phone sex operator, is one that is both an outlier for the director, and the perfect convergence of many of his strengths as a filmmaker, forming a perfectly absurd contradiction in a film that builds itself on a steady foundation of logical conflict. Partially a darkly satirical comedy and a bleak psychological thriller in equal measure, Girl 6 is quite an experience, a film that may not be particularly accessible for newcomers to Lee’s work (and may not be the best place to start for those who aren’t acclimated to his peculiar style, or even agnostic to his skills). However, for those of us who have welcomed Lee and his occasionally strange vision into their minds, this film is the exact kind of offbeat, provocative comedy that we came to expect from the director, who always had a firm grasp on the human condition, filtering it through a series of bewildering stories that harbour deeper meanings, even when they appear to be effortlessly simple in both form and content, neither one truly applying to this film, which just steadily descends into a polarizing madness that is both its most debilitating weakness, and resounding strength.

For matters of clarity, it’s important to note that Girl 6 can’t be entirely attributed to Lee. In fact, it would be most accurate to mention how, out of his cinematic output in the 1990s, this is the work that carries the least-notable traits of his vision. The authorial voice of this film instead belongs to Suzan-Lori Parks, the world-renowned novelist and playwright, known for her distinctly postmodern style of writing, who collaborated with Lee by writing the screenplay to this film (the first time Lee did not have a credited hand in the screenwriting process). It’s relieving to realize that Parks was the person behind this story, since it justifies the often brutally honest depiction of feminine issues and conversations surrounding womanhood that punctuate the film, that would’ve been otherwise questionable if they were borne from the mind of Lee, who may have shown an admirable quality to write female characters, just not on the same level as this film required. The collaboration proved to be fruitful, and the artistic vision of both Lee and Parks are found heavily throughout the film, existing in a perfect symbiosis that only strengthens to the film, since Parks’ perspective and ability to weave together words with a poeticism complements the renegade style of filmmaking that has always defined Lee’s productions. The collaboration bears remarkably effective results, since every moment of Girl 6 makes wonderful use of both artists’ skills, as well as challenging them to work on something slightly more off-kilter than what either was used to – and the final product is a simply mesmerizing comedy with an oddly sinister streak accompanying it along the way, which only increases the sense of foreboding danger.

A Spike Lee joint is never something that should be passed over, even when it may not feature the most recognizable stars, or a premise that immediately lends itself to being alluring to general audiences. Girl 6 has only slowly started to gain some momentum as a cult classic (much in the same way Bamboozled has received critical reappraisal in recent years), so there is still quite a long way to go before it’s consolidated as the masterful exploration of the intersections between sexuality, feminity and other broader issues of identity, which are all found scattered throughout Parks’ fascinating story of a young woman who finds herself in a space of absolute desperation, seeking out any means to escape her economic situation – and through the process, finding a new freedom in the most unexpected of vocations. Theresa Randle is an absolutely exceptional lead – as the central focus, her performance as the titular character carried an immense weight, and one could’ve easily seen how a lesser performer may have struggled to hit the emotional beats, while still being sultry, funny and interesting, rather than a cardboard cutout of a few archetypal quirks, which is a testament to Parks’ ability to write a truly compelling protagonist. Randle is the heart and soul of Girl 6, which uses her incredibly well – every moment she is on screen is captivating, and we don’t even notice the steady parade of character actors woven in until much later (with appearances by the wonderful Jenifer Lewis, John Turturro and Halle Berry only adding to the eccentric tapestry that constitutes this film – there is also a hilarious cameo by Madonna, who seems to be enjoying showing off her comedic side). It’s a poignant portrayal of a woman doing her best to survive, and finding herself in the process.

Girl 6 is a forward-thinking film, which may account for its muted reception at the time of its release. There are issues raised in this film which are still hot-button topics from a contemporary perspective. Primarily, this film looks at careers associated with sex workers, taking a satirical approach to a very prescient, relevant issue. The conversations that have been ongoing for decades around the existence of sex workers are turned on their heads in this film, which doesn’t necessarily glamourize the trade (showing some of its most profoundly unsettling shortcomings, and how dangerous it can be), but also outright refuses to villainize those who choose this path in life. For the most part, Lee and Parks crafted what is best described as a workplace comedy about sex, one where the physical act is manifested through words and emotions, showing that the sensation of intimacy is far from as simple as most make it out to be. Arguably, there is a very heightened tone to this film, and a sense of humour that cuts the acidic atmosphere and penetrates the darker material, helping find a balance between the absurdity of the premise, and the real-world problems that inspired it. Girl 6 is a revolutionary step forward for representation, with the director and writer doing their best to give a voice to those that are still sadly on the margins – and while the film doesn’t offer the most insightful glimpse into the industry (at least not in the way future films would), but it did help open the door up for these conversations, showing that one can approach these issues if done with tact, clarity and (more than anything else), the utmost respect. Girl 6 is a fundamentally human film, so while it does take the form of a story about the literal commodification of sex and its practitioners, there is a depth to it that supersedes any of the surface-level controversies that would come from a film that was wildly ahead of its time.

Spike Lee is such a gifted filmmaker, and nothing proves this more than when we move away from his more popular films, and instead focus on the deeper cuts, the films that have found a niche audience, and have received some degree of acclaim, just not on the enormous scale of some of his unimpeachable classics. Girl 6 is a film that takes some time to adjust, because even beyond its socially charged message, the film is presented in a way that can be quite bewildering if we aren’t prepared for it – scenes are presented out of order, the story jumps between sub-plots that initially seem like non-sequiturs, but grow to become essential to the main story. Most importantly, the tone of the film can be considered quite jarring, being caught somewhere between goofy, colourful comedy, and terrifying psychological horror, with the oscillation between them feeling disjointed at first, until we realize that this is only contributing to the sense of disconnect between this film and the world around it, an intentional choice done to draw attention to its underlying themes. Girl 6 is a fascinating portrait of feminity, constructed beautifully by a filmmaker with a keen understanding of some broad issues, and who once again demonstrates how he is able to weave together fragments of humanity into a truly compelling story, this time working alongside an equally gifted writer, who helps in establishing what is ultimately a revolutionary work of socially-charged fiction, and a film that is bound to become a vital entry into this era of filmmaking when it finally manages to emerge from the shadows and reach audiences beyond the niche devotees that have been keeping it alive for the past quarter of a century.